Document-file.



UNTTED STATES Patented December 20, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

TAYLOR E. BROIVN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,` ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES H.

BESLY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DOCUMENT-FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,881, dated December 20, 1904.

I Application flied February 13, 1903. Serial No. 143,166.

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, TAYLOR E. BROWN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new andv useful Improvements in Document-Files; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in document-tiles, and more especially to that class of iiles in which the documents are held or clamped between a head-board and a follower-board which is supported and adapted to slide on guide-rods which are arranged at right angles to the said head-board.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is a perspective view of a document-file made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of the follower-board and the guide-rods on which the same is mounted. Fig. 3 is a detail crosssection taken upon line 3 8 of Fig. 2.

As shown in said drawings, A indicates the base-board of the iile, B the head-board thereof, and C the follower-board. Said followerboard is arranged parallel with the head-board in the usual manner and is movable toward and from the same, so'that the documents placed between the head-board and followerboard may be clamped between the same by moving the follower-board toward the headboard.

D D indicate horizontal guide-rods upon which the follower-board is mounted and is adapted to slide. Said guide-rods are arranged at either side of the file at a considerable distance above and parallel with the base-board, the guide-rods being attached to the inner face of the head-board and their rear ends being bent or extended downwardly to form standards D2 D3, which are attached at their lower ends to the rear margin of the base-board and serve to rigidly connect the-rear ends of the guide-rods D D/ with said base-board. A horizontal brace-bar l is shown as connecting the rear ends of the guide-rods with each other, said brace-bar being shown as bent at its ends around and attached to the upper ends of the standards D2 D3.

The follower-board C is connected with the guide-rods D D by means as follows: E is a fiat metal supporting-bar attached to the rear or outer face of the follower-board and extending horizontally across the same between the guide-rods D D. The ends of said bar E extend beyond the side margins of the followerboard and are provided with apertures through which the guide-rods extend. One end of said bar forms a straight extension ofthe same and constitutes an earorlug e for engagement with the guide-bar D atthat side of the follower-board. At the opposite side of the follower-board the end of the bar E which projects beyond the follower-board is bent into U form, so as to constitute an outward straight extension e of the bar E, a part e2, which is parallel with therod D and located outside of the same. and an inwardly-extending part e3, which is parallel with the main part of the bar. The parts e' and @3 are provided with apertures through which the guide-rod Dl passes, this construction affording two separated bearings of the bar E on the guide-rod Dl so as to hold the follower-board rigidly in its vertical position, while permitting the same to slide freely on the guide-rods toward and from the head-board.

For clamping or holding the follower-board against the papers in the iile a fiat or leaf spring F is`attached at one end rigidly to the outer face of the bar E, with its free end adjacent to the U-shaped end of the bar and between the two portions of the same which are engaged with the guide-rod D Said free end of the spring is bent or deiiected outwardly from the bar so that it extends at a slight angle to the same and is provided at its extremity with a notch f to receive the guide-rod D. Said spring F is, moreover, so arranged that its spring or resiliency tends to throw its free end toward 4the follower -board, while the spring' is made of such length that when in a position slightly inclined outwardly from the bar E it will be in endwise bearing against the guide-rod Df. fhein however, the free end of the spring is drawn backwardly away from the follower-plate, its end pressure against the guide-rod will be released. Said spring is furthermore provided with an upwardly-extending finger-piece f at or near its free end, by which the spring may be grasped for drawing it backwardly away from the followerplate.

From the construction described it is manifest that when the parts are in their normal positions, as shown in Figs. l and 2, if pressure be applied to the rear or outer face of the follower-board the same may be moved freely toward the head-board as may be required fer clampingpapers between the follower-board and the head-board. Any backward movement of the follower-board will, however, be prevented by engagement of the end of the spring E with the guide-rod D, it being obvious that any pressure on the front or inner face of the follower-board tending to push the same backwardly wil-l result in the Tree end of the spring' being, through its frictional engagement with the rod, pressed endwise against the same, thereby giving such increased friction as to prevent any backward movement of the follower-board. If, however, pressure be applied to the inner end of the spring itself, by grasping the finger-piece f and pulling the same backward the free end of the spring will be released from the rod, and the follower-plate may then be moved freely backward, as may be required, to release the papers for removing one or more of the same or when it is desired to insert additional papers in the file.

To place the follower-board into clamping engagement with the papers in the file, it is merely necessary to thrust the follower-board forward by pressure of the hand on its rear face, and to release the follower-board and move it backwardly it is merely necessary to press backwardly with the finger in the fingerpiece ff of the leaf-spring.

l claim as my invention-- l. A document-file comprising a head-board, a follower-board, two guide-rods, a' fiat supporti ng-bar attached to the follower-board and provided at one end with an aperture through which one of the guide-rods extends and bent at its other end to forni an integral U-shaped part, the parallel members of which are provided with openings through which extends the other guide-rod, said U-shaped part of the bar being arranged vertically edgewise, and a leaf-spring attached to the outer face of said bar, the free end of the spring being inclined outwardly and away from said bar and having endwise bearing against one of said guiderods at a point between the parallel members of said U-shaped part.

Q. Adocument-file comprising a head-board, a follower-board, two guide-rods, a supporting-bar attached to the follower-board having one of its ends bent in U form to constitute two separated bearings for engagement with one of the guide-rods and a leaf-spring attached to the outer face of the said bar having its free end in endwise engagement with the guide-'rod between the separated bearings of the said bar.

3. In a document-file, the combination with a follower-supporting frame having as elements thereof a pair of fixed parallel rods, of a follower-plate, a transverse bar to one face of which said follower-plate is secured between said rods, said bar having its ends apertured and slidingly mounted on said rods, an elastic arm secured at one end on the outer face of said bar and having its other end provided with a horizontally-elongated slot through which one of said rods passes, said slot being so positioned that the inner edge thereof is caused, by the elasticity of the arm, to bite against the adjacent surface of the rod, and a, fixed thumb-clasp member disposed adjacent to and on the release side of the slotted end of said elastic arm.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention l affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 3d day of January,A.D.

TAYLOR E. BROWN. Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, WILLIAM L. HALL. 

